Pariah
by The Fallen Sky
Summary: Being a pariah in high school can be painful. However, some things are worth suffering for.


Title: Pariah  
Author: The Fallen Sky  
Rating: T  
Pairing: Chlark  
Summary: Being a pariah in high school can be painful. However, some things are worth suffering for.  
Warning: PDA ahead!  
A/N: This is a Chlark one-shot, and it's told from Chloe's POV. This takes place during Chlark's Freshmen year of high school and is extremely AU. I'd tell you more, but I don't want to spoil the surprise.

Feedback is welcome. Enjoy!

* * *

She can feel their eyes on her, watching her, judging her as she walks down the hallway.

It used to bother her, used to make her feel self-conscious, like she was a freak, but she's gotten used to it, or at least gotten good at ignoring it.

She doesn't blame them for looking. If she were in their place, she'd look, too. It's human nature, and they're all just immature teenagers, so it'd be foolish to expect anything different.

Still, the accusing and judgmental stares and the gossipy whispers do take a toll. She's cried herself to sleep on many occasions, even broke down a time or two in the privacy of the Torch office. Hearing yourself referred to as a slut, even when it's whispered under the breath of heartless and cruel teenagers, will do that to a girl.

But she never lets on that she's affected by their words and looks. She always maintains a calm, impassive facade when prying eyes and ears are on her. She refuses to give them the satisfaction of knowing that they can hurt her, have hurt her and no doubt will continue to hurt her.

She prides herself on her inner strength, on knowing that she can withstand anything and come out the other side a better person for it. And while that strength is tested on a daily basis, she's still standing, still holding her head high, and still confident that she'll survive this and make it through this stronger than ever.

That's not to say that she hasn't thought about throwing their words back at them, blowing up and just telling them all to go to hell, but she always manages to hold her tongue. She just doesn't want to sink to their level. And what good would it do, anyway? If she lashed out at them, she'd just be giving them one more thing to criticize her for, and that's not something she's prepared to do.

So, she keeps her eyes focused in front of her, pretends she doesn't know they're looking, pretends she can't hear them whispering, and continues on her way to her destination.

* * *

The journey seems to take forever, but then everything seems to take longer these days. It comes with the territory, and it's not like she didn't know certain things would become more difficult as things progressed.

Still, knowing what's waiting for her at her destination makes the effort completely worthwhile.

As she rounds the corner, she can feel her pulse quicken, can feel her excitement grow and her mood improve.

It still amazes her that she reacts this way, even when just thinking about what's waiting for her.

Through the throng of students, which seems to part for her, she can see the first hint of plaid, red today, and it only causes her to quicken her pace.

With each step, she sees a little more of him, the unruly dark hair, the handsome face, the lanky yet muscular upper body covered in flannel, the long, oh-so very long legs wearing faded and worn blue jeans and the enormous work boots at the very base of this tower of male perfection.

She can already feel her smile beginning to form.

He's gathering books from his locker, and it's almost as if he senses her approaching, because he turns his head in her direction, their eyes meet, and she can see the smile blossom on his face, making him more handsome than anyone has a right to be.

Her small smile explodes into a full-on beaming one, and she practically skips the last few feet to him.

She's immediately greeted by a warm embrace and a love-filled, though rather chaste, kiss.

He breaks the kiss first, much to her disappointment, but his arms remain around her with hers around him, both of them staring lovingly into the other's eyes.

The world around them seems to fall away, and it's just the two of them.

God, how she loves these moments.

Of course, all good things must come to an end, and their little bubble of bliss is popped when someone bumps into him, which pushes him slightly into her.

His attention leaves her, his expression and mood immediately turning to one of annoyance as he shouts "Watch it!" to whomever performed the hit and run.

She doesn't hear a response from the offender, but the fact that his expression softens makes her certain an apology was offered and silently accepted.

As he turns his attention back to her, his face brightens and a small smile quickly finds its way to his lips, which she promptly kisses.

This kiss lasts much longer and is more intense, though not hurried.

The sound of the first warning bell, signaling that classes will be starting soon, pulls them from their moment of slowly simmering passion, much to both their disappointment.

Luckily, they both have first period free, so there's no need to hurry, but they still need to get going, lest they be reprimanded for PDA, again.

Smile still on his face, he finally speaks, his voice soft and filled with affection. "Good morning."

She can't help but giggle at that, because they've already greeted each other with kisses, making the statement completely unnecessary, but she loves that he still says it.

"Good morning to you, too." Her reply is bubbly, her voice touched with humor and affection, her eyes shining, her smile brilliant.

"How are my girls today?" He asks as his hand moves from her back to her front, gently caressing the round curve of her belly.

She has to fight the urge to purr and moan at his touch, because it just feels so damn good. Then again, all of his touches feel good.

Instead, her eyes slip shut, and she places one of her hands over his, stilling its movement. At that exact moment, she feels a slight kick from inside her womb, and she hears him chuckle before saying, "Looks like someone's feeling frisky today."

Before she can respond, she feels his lips against hers, a brief caress that makes her breathe a bit harder and her heart skip a beat.

Slowly opening her eyes, she sees a look of joyous wonder on his face, and it makes her insides melt. She didn't think it was possible to love him more than she already does, but seeing that expression on his face and the light in his eyes just proved that it is possible.

Her voice is soft and a bit teasing as she replies, "She's just like her mother, always getting excited by your touch."

It takes a moment for the double meaning of her statement to register, but when it does, his cheeks turn red and his smile becomes sheepish.

_God, he's adorable_, she thinks, even as a giggle escapes her at his reaction, and she rises up on her toes to give him a quick kiss in appreciation of his adorableness.

As she settles back on her feet, dreamy smile on her lips, she hears the sound of a throat being cleared and turns to locate the source of the interruption.

Standing a few feet away from them is Principal Kwan, and he's looking at them with mild disapproval, which can also be heard in his voice.

"I hope I don't need to remind you about the school's policy on public displays of affection."

She doesn't wait for Clark to answer, because she knows he's probably blushing profusely and unable to speak, so she replies matter-of-factly, "No, Principal Kwan. We're both well aware of the school's policy." She doesn't add, _'We're intimately aware, because we've both served enough detention for our PDA this year to last a lifetime.'_

He accepts her response at face value and adds, "Then I suggest you two get to class so I won't have to cite you both for being tardy, again."

"Yes, sir. Clark was just gathering our books, weren't you, Clark?" She turns to him then, making eye contact to emphasize her point.

It takes him a few seconds to react, but he turns to Principal Kwan and stammers out, "Y-yeah," before holding up his book-filled backpack as evidence.

Seemingly satisfied, Principal Kwan gives them one last appraising look before turning and heading down the crowded hallway.

"That was close." Clark says with a measure of relief as he watches Kwan walk away.

Feeling naughty, she says in a mischievous voice, "Not as close as this," before stepping closer to Clark, pressing her body against his and giving him a toe-curling kiss that has them both panting when they break apart.

The smoldering look he gives her after that kiss, along with the hardness she can feel pressing against her belly, make her feel incredibly sexy and powerful, and her body is practically screaming at her to indulge his desire for her, but her brain is still somewhat functioning, so she does the wise and responsible thing.

"We should get going."

She sees the disappointment in his eyes at her statement, but it's fleeting.

He sighs and says in a softly resigned voice, "You're right."

Not liking that she worked him up only to leave him hanging, and feeling incredibly bold, she looks at him with earnest eyes and says softly and in her most sincere voice, "You know, the darkroom in the Torch has a door that locks from the inside."

He looks at her for a long moment, his eyes turning glassy, presumably from all the naughty fantasies racing through his mind, as her words sink in.

After several seconds, he finally blinks, shakes off the cobwebs and gives her a goofily happy smile, which she returns in kind.

He lightly caresses her cheek as he leans in and gives her a soft, promise-filled kiss before pulling back and saying with barely contained excitement and enthusiasm, "We better get moving, then. PDA is nice and definitely worth detention, but the things I wanna do with you will get us expelled if we do them out in the open."

The implications of his words and the hungry look he's giving her makes her breath hitch, her pulse quicken and her whole body feel like it's on fire.

It's all she can do to whisper, "Okay."

With that, he slings his backpack over one shoulder, closes his locker, wraps an arm around her waist and begins leading her toward the Torch office.

Eagerly anticipating what's to come, she snuggles into his side and revels in the feel of his warmth, the love and affection he has for her radiating off him in waves.

As they walk down the hall and despite her euphoria, she can feel the eyes on her again, but the accusing and judgmental whispers are silent.

It seems no one ever dares to speak badly of her when she's with Clark, probably because they fear his retribution, which is funny. After all, Clark's never been in a fight in his life. In fact, he's the most harmless, sweet and innocent man she's ever known. Still, when it comes to her, he's as fierce as a lion protecting his pride, and he can instill fear with nothing more than a look.

She likes to think of herself as an independent, modern woman who doesn't need a man to protect her, but she can't deny that she loves feeling safe and protected in Clark's presence.

Yes, people will continue to talk about her. She is 15 and pregnant, after all. And while it hurts to be judged and looked down upon, it's not such a high price to pay to be loved by someone as special and amazing as Clark.


End file.
